


Twelve. Twelve. Twenty-two.

by localpharmacist



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Birthday, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Family, Happy Birthday Kageyama Tobio, Hugging, I Pulled An All-nighter For This, Kissing, Late Night Conversations, Late Night Writing, M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:08:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28232190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/localpharmacist/pseuds/localpharmacist
Summary: A few minutes before Kageyama Tobio's birthday.
Relationships: Kageyama Tobio/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 8
Kudos: 107





	Twelve. Twelve. Twenty-two.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Kageyama! It's nothing grand, but please enjoy this fic!
> 
> Don't mind the title. I closed my eyes and typed it in.

He woke up to the dull sound of the wind outside, and when he fully acquired his consciousness, he could hear the light breathing coming out of the warm body next to him. Kageyama sat up slowly, careful of the arm slung over him. He looked to the side, watching the steady rise and fall of a chest, then he slowly moved Tsukishima's arm away. His eyes flickered to Tsukishima's face, trying to see if he was going to wake up- his eyes were still closed.

Kageyama slipped out of the covers, and he pulled them up to Tsukishima's chin. His tall boyfriend proceeded to bury his face under the warmth of the many blankets they had, and Kageyama couldn't help the fond smile spreading on his face. He turned to the bedside table, checking for the time on his phone.

_Eleven-forty-five._

Fifteen more minutes until his birthday. Kageyama didn't really think much of his birthday, of course it was nice to eat cakes together with his friends, it was just nice to be able to hangout with his friends in general. The birthday cake was just a bonus. Also they were obliged to do anything that he wanted to, which was always playing volleyball. It was fun, especially back in high school. Now that they were grown-ups, occupied with their own lives, it became harder to celebrate birthdays like they used to.

But Kageyama had never made a fuss out of it. None of them was. Though he did miss those days where they would see each other every day, even when they weren't celebrating birthdays. They did always try to make time to meet up and have dinners together for their birthdays. Eating together just like when they were younger, but there was alcohol involved now that they were adults. He supposed it was a grown-up thing to do.

Kageyama stood up, the bed creaked lightly, and he walked out of his bedroom with his phone in his hand. His feet felt cold, the floor was as well. He didn't bother to look for his socks somewhere in the bedroom.

He walked to the kitchen mindlessly, not exactly sure what was he going to do in there. He took a sudden pause with his steps, his eyes looking at the sliding glass door that led to their balcony. It was snowing outside, and the moonlight lit up every individual snow that dropped. The moonlight also poured inside their apartment through the glass door, but it didn't quite reach him from where he was standing. So Kageyama resumed his journey to the kitchen.

He didn't bother turning the lights on, for some reason he thought it would break something in the room. Maybe the stillness of the cold air or the silence of the apartment, he wasn't really sure, but he found the darkness calming somehow.

He stood in the middle of the kitchen for a moment, not exactly knowing what to do. His eyes laid on two mugs next to each other on the counter instead of hanging with the others. He didn't need a light to know that they were yellow, his mug, and blue, which was Tsukishima's. Kageyama had almost dropped them once, and his heart had jumped up to his throat. His hands were wet that time, and the grip he had around them was slippery, but he managed to catch them before they met the ground. And in doing so, he had bruised his elbow when he accidentally knocked it against the kitchen counter.

_"You should be more careful, King," Tsukishima said, his eyebrows furrowing tightly. "Look, you hurt your elbow."_

_Tsukishima proceeded to scold him as he applied ointment on his bruise, and Kageyama kept grunting at his words, occasionally offering "yes's" and "okay's" while pouting._

_"I didn't want our mugs to break," Kageyama told him._

_His boyfriend looked at him, something in his eyes told Kageyama that he'd said something surprising. He thought over his words, but he didn't think he'd said something weird. And when he returned Tsukishima's stare with a raise of his eyebrow, Tsukishima only smiled and didn't offer any explanation._

Kageyama decided that he was going to drink. He turned to the fridge, opening it and the light came out. He crouched down, his body lighting up from the fridge light. The coldness swirled in the air, touching Kageyama's face as he looked inside. He knew he shouldn't be drinking anything cold in this weather. He might get sick and that would make Tsukishima worry, and worrisome Tsukishima was a lot to deal with. Kageyama always felt guilty when Tsukishima became that way.

Well, he shouldn't really be complaining when he would always be taken care of really well by Tsukishima. He just didn't like seeing Tsukishima worry- he hated it, actually. He didn't hate the attention because it came from Tsukishima, but he just thought that maybe Tsukishima should stop spoiling him so much. He wasn't used to it, and and at the beginning of their relationship Tsukishima had promised that he would ease Kageyama into it slowly. He didn't want to overwhelm Kageyama, and the blue-eyed man felt like he was already being spoiled right then and there.

They had been together for almost two years now, but they had known each other since they were sixteen- well, Kageyama was fifteen back then- but for some reason Kageyama felt like they had known each other since forever. Somehow when he looked back now, he always felt like Tsukishima had been there in his life the whole time.

Maybe in a different universe the two of them had always been together, and their feelings were strong enough to resonate in this universe. Maybe, and that thought made it easier for Kageyama to accept Tsukishima's care and affection.

Kageyama sat down on the floor, the cold seeping through the fabric of his sweatpants. He stared at the contents of the fridge, placing his phone down on the floor. They stocked up on milk because Kageyama couldn't really go a day without drinking it. Tsukishima had told him that his stomach might hurt from drinking too much milk, but he would always make sure to buy them.

Whenever they went to the grocery store together, Tsukishima would always grab the milk that Kageyama wanted wordlessly, as if it was something that he wanted for himself. There were times where Kageyama wouldn't even notice that Tsukishima did so.

There were strawberries in the fridge, and Kageyama noticed that there were less than yesterday. Tsukishima must've been snacking on them. Kageyama ate a very sour one once, and his face contorted and twisted as he chewed. Tsukishima was laughing at him, even saying that he was exaggerating. Kageyama body had tingled, and he did a little shake as the flavor kicked his tongue. Tsukishima made fun of him, but despite that he started to buy the sweeter strawberries.

They would eat them together, Tsukishima more than Kageyama, but Kageyama enjoyed them. Especially when he got to taste them on Tsukishima's lips. The strawberries tasted so much sweeter that way.

He heard a click coming from the hallway that led to the bedroom, then quiet footsteps after. Kageyama didn't turn his head to look. Kageyama waited.

"Tobio?" Tsukishima's voice sounded like it was still clouded by sleep.

He saw Tsukishima standing next to him from the corner of his eye, then he properly looked at him. Tsukishima had a blanket wrapped around his body, and his blond hair was a mess of loose curls. He didn't wear his glasses, and his eyes were squinting, trying to focus on Kageyama's face as he bathed in the light of the fridge.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he reached for the light switch.

"Keep it off," Kageyama said, stopping him. "Just keep the light off."

Tsukishima didn't say anything, he just stepped closer to him and joined him on the floor. He sat behind Kageyama, his long legs were bent. He scooted closer to Kageyama, his chest against his back, then he wrapped the blanket around their bodies. He pulled Kageyama in, encasing him in an embrace, and Kageyama settled in with an ease.

"You're going to catch a cold, Tobio," Tsukishima said, his voice deep and slightly scratchy. "You can't be sick for your birthday."

"You're here," Kageyama replied.

"Well, that's true." Tsukishima placed his chin on Kageyama's shoulder, wrapping his arms around Kageyama's torso. "I shall keep his highness warm and healthy, then."

Kageyama only hummed, still staring at the fridge. His hands were holding onto the blanket covering them, making sure that it wouldn't slip. He could feel Tsukishima's breath brushing his skin every now and then, the soft sound of his breathing was accompanied by the quiet whirring from the fridge. He decided to close it.

The room was dark again.

"Are you all right?" Tsukishima asked, voice quiet and hushed. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing," he replied. "And I'm okay."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Not really," Kageyama said, then he turned a little to look at Tsukishima. "How about you? Did I wake you up?"

Tsukishima shook his head. "No, you didn't."

Kageyama leaned in to kiss him on his lips. A simple and short kiss. There was a small smile on Tsukishima's face, and Kageyama could feel one forming on his own too.

"Your birthday is in a few minutes," Tsukishima said. "How should we celebrate it?"

"You're asking me as if you haven't made a whole plan," he replied, smirking.

"My plan was to do whatever you want to do for tomorrow, so would you be so generous and help me out, your highness?"

"Not sure if I can help with that."

Tsukishima placed a kiss on Kageyama's nape, then he moved to the junction between his neck and shoulder. Kageyama started to giggle when Tsukishima left fluttering kisses on the side of his neck.

"Of course you can." Another kiss. "It's your birthday." Another one. "You must have something that you want for tomorrow."

"Other than volleyball?" Kageyama asked playfully.

Tsukishima scoffed, but then he pulled the collar of Kageyama's sweater a little to reveal his shoulder. He started to leave open-mouthed kisses there, and Kageyama's toes curled as Tsukishima began to mark him, biting down and sucking hickeys.

"Kei," he exhaled out.

Tsukishima brought Kageyama's right hand to his face, then he kissed the inside of his wrist. Kageyama looked at him, smiling, and they brushed their noses together.

"What are you thinking about?" Tsukishima asked, his voice as barely a whisper.

Kageyama stared at him for a moment, diving into his golden eyes in the dark. He saw himself there, and it used to scare him of how deeply rooted he actually was in Tsukishima. He knew that he also had a place for Tsukishima inside of him, somewhere between his thoughts and in the beats of his heart. He wondered if Tsukishima was comfortable there, and if he wasn't, Kageyama could always show him the way out.

The way out. Kageyama's thoughts always faltered when it came to that. Tsukishima had a right to leave, but if possible, Kageyama would like it if he stayed for a long time.

He really liked spending his birthdays with his friends. He did. He also really enjoyed spending them with Tsukishima, not just as friends but as lovers. Even when it was just the two of them, even when they didn't play volleyball, Kageyama found himself the most happy that way. That was a problem, because if they broke up somehow in the future, Kageyama didn't think he would be able to recover. Then he would start to think a lot about his birthday, and they weren't going to be nice thoughts.

"Hey," Tsukishima started again when Kageyama was quiet for too long. "Remember that one time in second year where we celebrated your birthday?"

"When you threw a milk carton at my head and it just bursted and covered me in milk?" Kageyama asked.

"So you do remember."

"Of course I do," Kageyama said. "You thought I didn't?"

"Well, I just thought that if you didn't I would lie about it and say that I did something very nice and sweet for you back then," Tsukishima replied.

Kageyama lightly punched his chest. "Asshole."

"As if you didn't throw a plate of whip cream at my face in third year," Tsukishima said, pouting.

"Yamaguchi told me to do it because it's a loving gesture," he replied, turning his face away.

"The milk was also a loving gesture." Tsukishima kissed his temple.

Kageyama stared at the fridge, and he thought about all the milk they had inside. He smiled.

"Yeah," he muttered.

Tsukishima sighed behind him, and his arms around him tightened their hold. Kageyama felt warm, gentle, and he sunk even deeper in Tsukishima's embrace.

"Now that I think about it," Tsukishima began again. "I've liked you for a really long time, and somewhere in the middle of it all, I fell in love with you."

Kageyama's heart stuttered. The butterflies that had always been fluttering their wings for Tsukishima suddenly turned into something bigger, filling his whole being and making it hard for him to breathe. He sucked in a deep breath, holding onto it because he didn't know what to do.

"I don't have a plan to fall out of it. I don't think I want to," he continued, burying his face in the junction of Kageyama's neck and shoulder.

Kageyama gulped loudly, the movement of his Adam's apple hurt his throat. He tried to find something to say- a way to say it because he already knew what he was going to tell Tsukishima. He had to get it out. He had to let Tsukishima know.

"Kei, I-"

The ringing of his phone startled the two of them. Kageyama picked it up from the floor and saw that someone was calling him. He paused when he looked at the name on the screen.

"It's okay." He heard Tsukishima's soft voice. "Answer the call, Tobio. It's all right."

Kageyama's thumb hovered over the answer button in hesitation for a second, then he exhaled heavily when he felt Tsukishima's hand rubbing his side slowly. He pressed the button, then placed the phone against his ear.

"Hello, nee-san?"

_"Tobio,"_ the voice from the other line says. _"Happy birthday."_

Kageyama's eyebrows furrowed, then he pulled the phone away to check the time. It was already twelve. He put his phone on his ear once again.

_"This is supposed to be a surprise,"_ she paused, and Kageyama could hear her sighing. _"But I couldn't wait until tomorrow- well, it's already tomorrow, but you know what I mean."_

It was weird to hear her talk. They did talk to each other on the phone once in a while, but she was never the first person who greeted him on his birthday. There were times where they would meet as well, but she never stayed too long for his birthday. Kageyama had never heard his sister's words falling over each other. She had always appeared to be in control of everything that she did.

To hear her like this reminded him of himself. It reminded him that they were a family, and they were alike.

_"I'm going to be there tomorrow- I mean in the morning. Kei-kun and I made a plan for your birthday,"_ she continued. _"He's going to be mad if he knew I ruined the surprise."_

Kageyama shook his head, then he realized that Miwa couldn't see him. He needed to use his words.

"I can pretend to not know. I'll act surprised when you came so that he wouldn't find out," he said, his lips squirming into a smile.

Miwa laughed. A light and soft laugh. A sound that Kageyama hadn't heard a lot these days. Something that he almost forgot that Miwa was capable of doing. It pushed the tears out of his eyes, and he smiled even more.

_"No way. Kei-kun is smart. He'll absolutely find out."_

"He won't. He'll act like he didn't notice."

_"I think he'll definitely do that for you,"_ she replied. _"He loves you very much, huh?"_

Kageyama turned to look at Tsukishima, and the blond man brought his hands up to his face, brushing the tears away softly. He kissed Kageyama's forehead and Kageyama closed his eyes at the gesture.

"Yeah," he said to the phone. "I do, too."

_"Have you told him?"_

Kageyama opened his eyes, and Tsukishima was smiling at him. And he smiled back at his lover who was still shining in the dark.

"I will," he said.

_"You better,"_ Miwa said. _"Just don't get married before your big sister, you hear me?"_

Kageyama laughed, and he could see Tsukishima's eyes widening at the sound. It wasn't the first time he laughed, but it was the first time he did so while he was talking to Miwa. He noticed that there was a silence on the other side of the phone, and he wondered if Miwa thought of the same thing as he did.

He decided to break it. "Well, I can't promise you that, nee-san."

_"Just you wait. I'll find myself someone,"_ she said, and Kageyama could hear the smile on her voice. The smile he missed. He would like to see it in person.

"We'll see," he replied. "Thank you, nee-san."

Miwa hummed. _"I'll see you in the morning, Tobio."_

"See you." And with that the call ended, but Kageyama wasn't left with a bitter and empty feeling. For the first time he wasn't dreading the next call that he was going to have with Miwa.

He placed the phone down, and his hands found a place to rest on Tsukishima's broad shoulders.

"I wanted to be the first person to say happy birthday to you," Tsukishima said. "But I'll let Miwa-san have it this year."

"How generous of you," Kageyama replied.

"Well, next year we'll have to compete for that. I'm not giving anymore free passes."

Kageyama laughed again, his eyes crinkling. Tsukishima leaned in and kissed him. Their lips smiling against each other. Tsukishima pulled away for a moment, then he rested his forehead against Kageyama's.

"Happy birthday, Tobio," he whispered.

"Kei," Kageyama muttered, his hands moving to cup Tsukishima's face. "During those times when you were there, just there, I somehow fell in love with you too."

Tsukishima leaned away, eyes wide as he stared at Kageyama. The taller man breathed in the cold air and released it shakily. He pulled Kageyama in for another kiss, this time deeper, more passionate, closer. They hugged each other, arms locking their bodies together, and they kissed and kissed. It was warm.

Kageyama prayed that they could be together for a long time, and even if they couldn't, the hurt and pain that would come afterwards were things that Kageyama was willing to take. As long as he knew he had loved someone and was loved in return. But for now he was just going to hold Tsukishima in his arms and love him for as long as they were together so that their feelings could resonate in another universe as well.

**Author's Note:**

> Kageyama sitting on the floor when the weather is cold, listless and quiet is actually a callback to my other TsukiKage fic, "Bleeding" Despite the angst-y nature of that fic, I still like to think that they ended up together somehow in that universe.
> 
> I'm sorry if this comes off as me shamelessly promoting my other fic, but I just wanted to tell you guys, hehe. Either way, this can absolutely be read as a stand-alone. Thank you for reading!


End file.
